silver note
by tinyvoice
Summary: AU 3+4 1+2 sequel to tinsel tears


Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing  
  
  
  
". . .so. . .you had your eye on me all throughout highschool?" Trowa said dumbfounded. "And I was too dumb to notice. . ."  
  
Quatre smiled charmingly lowering his gaze to Trowa's hands on the table between them. After the strange moments on the steps of the Renaissance, the couple had made their way to the nearest café to talk things over.  
  
"Well. . .I've been wondering, what were you doing at the party?" Quatre asked as he stirred his tea and looking over at his companion with shy eyes.  
  
"To tell the truth. . .I work with my sister at the circus. I made her a portable computer for her birthday a couple of years ago, and then she searched out a penpal from this town. And we got invited by Duo to the party," Trowa explained and reached for his coffee feeling a little embarrassed.  
  
"Do you think they're teasing us?" Quatre chuckled. "It's a little funny to have two undercover matchmakers in our midst."  
  
"Yeah," Trowa agreed and followed Quatre's wandering gaze to outside the window. It was snowing.  
  
**  
  
They parted at the café after exchanging phone numbers. Quatre had dared not give out his address for the fear of horrible mortification by his not- so affable living conditions. Heaven forbid Trowa would ever want to visit the little hellhole of an apartment. It was no more than two small rooms, a desk, and a keyboard. Sometimes the electricity would flicker off, the water would stop up, or the thinness of the walls would become painfully obvious. After enough lamenting over his home, Quatre made his way through the lighted streets to his car.  
  
**  
  
Early in the morning, the phone rang. Quatre squeezed his eyes shut tighter and let out an agonized moan of "why?" When he tired of the incessant ringing, he groped blindly for the phone from under his blankets and tore it from the receiver.  
  
"Duo, you sadistic little devil," he whimpered. "Thank you for what you did last night, but for the love of. . .couldn't you rouse me from my ditch at a later hour?"  
  
"It is late," a mildly amused and familiar voice came from the other end of the line.  
  
"Oh! Trowa!" Quatre exclaimed, definitely awake now. He wormed his way out of his little labyrinth covers smoothing out his unruly hair and checking his watch. ". . .It is late. . ." he sighed reading eleven am on the quartz face of his watch. "Did you want something?"  
  
"Mainly to make sure you got home alright last night, and then to ask you out properly on a date," Trowa hearing a light snicker from the other boy added, "Cathy is making me do things her way right now."  
  
"It must be nice to have a sister," Quatre replied in a faraway voice.  
  
"Don't you have 29?" Trowa asked softly.  
  
Miserably, Quatre shook his head, "Not anymore." Then was quick to add, "It's alright, though."  
  
Deciding to let the subject drop, Trowa set the conversation back on course, "If you are free for New Years, do you want to do something then?"  
  
Feeling his heart fluttering in his chest, Quatre answered as calmly as he could manage, "I'd love to."  
  
Trowa smiled watching his sister worry herself around the hotel room. He could listen to Quatre's singsong voice until the day he died. He'd been so deprived before.  
  
The morning passed in that dreamy conversation. It was a little slow, but it wasn't awkward.  
  
**  
  
Later in the day, Quatre ran into Duo in the middle of rushing around and getting some last things done in his office at the college. He'd never known Duo for someone to loiter around a closed door until he nearly mowed him down with his. However subtle he was at home and in front of others, when he was at work and alone, he could be a real speed demon. He'd just gotten through with the last essay and consequently his tea as well. Still having to straighten up a bit before the holidays were out, he was going to make a dash for the vending machine. Using unchecked strength and speed, he thrust open the door and was rewarded with a loud "thump."  
  
"Oh! I'm so-oh. . .Hi Duo. Are you alright?" Quatre asked helping his friend up from the ground. "I'm surprised you didn't just burst right in like you normally do."  
  
"Yeah, well. . .I was trying to figure out how to break it to you." Duo winced at Quatre's wary expression. "Addie went into the studio and mixed all the songs during the holiday break. That's why we haven't seen him for a while. He just called me this morning to tell me that you guys are releasing on New Years. You have a gig at this hip hangout downtown. Apparently, our buddy was planning everything for a pretty long time. And, since he is the eldest out of your group, he can make these kinds of decisions even though you are the real brains behind everything."  
  
Shocked and confused, Quatre leaned on Duo's shoulder to sort everything out in his mind. "I can't be there on New Years. I already have a prior engagement that is extremely important."  
  
"Hey, Kat. Wake up. This is your all too important music career calling you. You need to be there for your band and rehearse. Whatever you had planned for before. . .My psychicness tells me that it was Trowa, you could just invite him to the show. You have the power to get him in for free," Duo admonished stroking his friend's back.  
  
"No! I can't do that!" Quatre whined. "I don't even know if he likes the style music. . .oh hell, I don't even know what the finished stuff sounds like."  
  
"That's why you need to go to rehearsal," Duo reminded him. "Your band buddies are depending on you to make the date."  
  
After a moment or two, Quatre began speaking again, "You know. . . he should have called me first. When is rehearsal?"  
  
A grin spread across Duo's face, "So, that means you're going to do it?"  
  
"Actually. . .I'm kind of pissed off right now. But, since I'm the lead vocalist and everything is already set. . .I have to."  
  
"Hell yes!" Duo exclaimed. Then he added sheepishly, "Your first rehearsal is this afternoon at four."  
  
"It's been a while," Quatre commented quietly. "Maybe this won't be so bad. I'll try to see what I can do about my other plans depending on how today turns out."  
  
"That's the spirit, Kat!" Duo cheered. "Lets go get something to eat!"  
  
"Actually, I was going for some t-"  
  
"Nonsense!" Duo cut in. "You need a man's meal! None of that tea stuffs."  
  
Feeling a little humbled in his friend's upbeat presence, Quatre allowed himself to be lead to the nearest diner.  
  
**  
  
"I didn't tamper with it too much," Addie said handing Quatre one of the finished discs. Everyone else in the band was mulling around and getting their equipment set up listening to the same thing with their own sets of headphones.  
  
Cautiously, Quatre slipped it into the player Duo lent him earlier and nearly dropped it at the sound that exploded into his ears. "Wow. This is really good! How did you do this in just two weeks?"  
  
Self-consciously, Addie scratched the back of his head, "Well. . . I always remember you saying to pour your feeling into the music without distorting the meaning, and I pretty much tried to do with this what you did with our last few albums. And our fans have been getting pretty restless, so I thought I'd surprise everyone."  
  
"Thank you," Quatre smiled winningly. "I guess. . .we should get started with this whole mess. We have less than a week to get everything down pat. Lets run through all our music to date today, and then pick out the best ones."  
  
"I'm fine with that." Addie replied.  
  
**  
  
"Hi Trowa," Quatre said to the very groggy guy on the other end of the line. It was somewhere around six in the morning, after all. Trowa sleepy sounded even better than Trowa awake. The great thing was that it was pretty evident that he was trying his damndest to be amiable at such an ungodly hour.  
  
"Morning Kat," he yawned. "Did you need something?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to you a while," Quatre stated innocently. "And I'm finally up nice and early in the morning. This is a milestone in bachelor Quatre Raberba Winner history. I thought I'd share it with you."  
  
"You stayed up all night, didn't you?" Trowa mused and was followed quickly by Quatre's lilting laughter.  
  
"How did you figure that?"  
  
"You sound tired," Trowa replied seriously.  
  
"Oh, you killjoy," Quatre teased. "I was just up rehearsing with NewType until around two, then I worked a little more until four. . .then I had to wait a couple more hours for an almost decent time to wake you up."  
  
"You were playing with your band?" Trowa asked sleepily as he made his way stealthily onto the balcony of his hotel room. It was a little cold for his habitual t-shirt and jeans, but he didn't mind. The danger of waking Cathy was over.  
  
"That's the main thing I wanted to talk to you about," Quatre admitted. "We had plans to go out on a date. . ."  
  
Trowa's heart clenched, ". . .yeah."  
  
"NewType scheduled a gig for that very day. I can't weasel out of it. . .so Duo suggested that you just accompany him into the club and watch the performance. If you're up to it afterwards, we can do something relatively decent then. I'm really sorry," Quatre said apologetically.  
  
"Don't be sorry, Kat. I'd have only been worried if I couldn't see you," Trowa heaved a relieved sigh. "I really want to see you play, anyway."  
  
"We're not that good," Quatre blushed. "Nothing special."  
  
Trowa smiled feeling oddly warm for it being so cold out.  
  
**  
  
The rest of the week was hectic, and each time Quatre called Trowa he sounded more and more tired. But, Duo was quick to assure him that it was normal for things to be that way before a gig. Cathy was ecstatic that Trowa would be going to hear Quatre play and insisted on taking him shopping with her even though most of the things they ended up buying had been for her.  
  
**  
  
"Hey! Tro!" Duo whined making a ruckus in the hallway of the hotel. "I can't wait forever!"  
  
Lazily, Heero's hand clapped onto the crown of the braided one's head. "Give it a rest. We have an hour, and the seats are reserved."  
  
"Traitor," Duo said giving Heero a raspberry.  
  
Then the door opened revealing a smartly attired Trowa. He was in more earthy colors than he'd have normally worn, and he actually had legroom in his pants. He looked rather sedate for such an important night. However, it was rather apparent that giddy emotion forced the young man to internalize even more than usual. He raised a brow, "You're staring."  
  
"And you're late," Duo countered before Heero took a hold of his braid. "Ow! Hey! Hey! Hey! Watch it!" Duo cried.  
  
"We're leaving now," Heero stated while Duo busied himself trying to pry his hair out of his lover's iron fist.  
  
Trowa followed behind the pair wondering whether he'd ever get to that kind of a point of intimacy with Quatre. Somewhere along the line in their developing relationship, he wanted to be able to feel uninhibited when showing public affection.  
  
**  
  
The club was a little run down looking from the outside with a little crowd milling around the double doors and a few bouncers pushing them back. Basically, the building itself looked like a huge brick with a door. There wasn't even a sign.  
  
"Damn.I know I put it in here somewhere," Duo muttered while he desperately gutted his wallet. "Damn it!"  
  
Heero rolled his eyes and reached into Duo's back pocket earning a startled "yipe" before he extracted three plastic id cards. "You never think to check there," he explained handing them over.  
  
The small group of three cut through the clump of people gathered round the entrance of the club and gained instant admittance much to the dismay of the masses.  
  
Inside the club were some punky looking people with expensive clothing and jewelry. The bulk of them were female fumbling for the best seat nearest to the stage.  
  
Before Trowa had even begun to ponder how popular NewType really was, Duo answered it for him, "NewType is the most popular band in the state. You'll see what I mean in a. . .in about five minutes."  
  
Trowa nodded as they took their reserved seats and just watched everything around him with no particular interest.  
  
**  
  
Back in the dressing room, Quatre was putting the finishing touches on his outfit. Taking one last look in the mirror, he clapped his hands on his cheeks, "You can do this. . ."  
  
**  
  
Trowa's attention was arrested by the foghorn like sound emitted from the speakers on stage. A tall man with a goatee and a form fitting jean ensemble stood in the limelight with a microphone. "Alright, I'm not gonna waste your valuable jamming time with lengthy introductions. Let me just introduce the kickin' band NewType, and I'll be out of sight for the rest of the night. Here they are. . .Missy!"  
  
A rather charming young man dressed in bright tie-dye with spiky pink hair jogged out in stage with a small grin. Girls screamed and whistled at him while he waved and took his position at the drums.  
  
"Ira!"  
  
A taller guy dressed in loose yellow and chains galore appeared on stage and took his place next to the drum set among a vast array of instruments, mostly percussion.  
  
"Addie!"  
  
A man with curly blue hair, matching clothes, and a flame embossed bass guitar ran out on stage. A sapphire colored stone tear adorned his left cheek. He smiled winningly at the crowd eliciting many cries and hoots.  
  
"Dinah!"  
  
Yet, another man graced the stage looking even more bizarre than the others. After many names had been called and the stage had almost been filled to capacity, Trowa was getting a little restless.  
  
"And, finally. . .Quatre!"  
  
He strode confidently on stage looking by far the most stunning of all his band mates. He seemed to wear less make-up but had a lot more charisma being just au naturelle. The long sleeves of his skin tight shirt ended like fish netting allowing for his slender digits to protrude. His long pants were very large and flared out towards the end. He wore all black except for a white dragon that crept up the side of his right pant leg. The jewelry he wore was all silver and ornately carved. The most surprising piece was the spiked collar he wore about his slender neck. Duo tried to explain to Trowa that NewType had a group of local sponsors, but he wasn't listening.  
  
The man with the goatee handed the microphone off to Quatre who turned to the crowd, the overhead lights making his glittered face shimmer. "Hello. It's been a long time hasn't it?" Amidst all the screaming and howling from the crowd, Trowa could only stare slack jawed wondering where and when Quatre's voice had gained that tempestuous tone to it. It sounded a little bit like his morning voice still deep from fatigue but a little more honeyed. "We missed you," Quatre continued. "And, we're sorry that we took so long with this album. I hope that we will not disappoint you. Thanks for supporting us." The lights dimmed as he made his way to the keyboard and DJ table.  
  
Then there was a surge of light and all the music just exploded forth. It stuck to no particular genre just as Quatre stuck to no particular instrument. He sang, danced, and surprisingly rapped. Everything in the club seemed to reach an almost instant fever high. People were up out of their seats and feeding from the energy coming from onstage. Quatre seemed like a little ball of fire the way that he was all over and shooting out lyrics at god like speeds as if it were first nature to him.  
  
Trowa didn't even have the time to feel jealous when Quatre danced on stage with his band buddies. It was mesmerizing to watch like one of those surreal sci-fi flicks some people find themselves drawn into late at night. The music style was something of a cross between, ska, funk, rock, hip-hop, blues, and many others. There was barely any techno element, which was quite refreshing.  
  
All too soon, the show was over. And to Trowa's shock, they'd been there for over two and a half-hours. The band said their goodbye and left to freshen up in the backstage dressing rooms.  
  
Feeling a little more than tired, Quatre only went to go grab his duffel and bid his friends goodnight before he joined his little group in the back alley of the club.  
  
Addie tossed him a string of candy canes as a belated Christmas present and then shooed him out before he could thank him.  
  
Outside, he met up with his more than ecstatic friends and a more timid looking Trowa. However, he didn't fail to pull Quatre into a strong embrace after a few moments of Duo's excited babble. Heero just smiled and anchored his lover to the ground. Duo looked about ready to explode.  
  
For the moment, the world seemed to stop. "The best moment of my life. . ." Quatre whispered leaning back into the embrace. Trowa rested his chin easily on Quatre's crown of fluffy, sweet smelling blond hair and enjoyed the moment.  
  
"It's too late for drinks. . .I guess we can party tomorrow, right?" Duo suggested a little of the euphoria from the performance wearing off. Heero too seemed a little fatigued, though he didn't make it too apparent.  
  
"I'd like that," Quatre said in a non-committal tone, but gratefully.  
  
They parted in the parking lot, everyone forgetting that Trowa had no car. As embarrassing as it was, Quatre offered to drive Trowa to his hotel in his car. At the sight of the old mazda, Trowa asked whether it'd be alright if he'd just camp out on the sofa in Quatre's apartment for the night rather than push the tin box. Unable to turn down the request, they both got into the car and headed downtown.  
  
As impossible as it seemed to Trowa, the apartment complex Quatre inhabited looked far worse than his car.  
  
Resigning himself to the fact that it was bound to happen someday, Quatre pressed onward. His apartment was the furthest down in building B on the first floor. After a short and mortifying struggle with the door, they entered his cramped two-room apartment.  
  
"You can have my futon," Quatre said as he flicked on the lights. To say that his apartment was sad would be an understatement. His "kitchen" was right next to a green fold up table and matching chair with papers stacked all over. Under and next to that were boxes of books and a small black cabinet. On the floor in the corner was a green telephone beside a rolled up black futon with red sheets in a clear plastic case. On the other side of the room were more boxes with books and newspapers. From the looks of it, the most expensive things Quatre owned were a mini refrigerator and a very nice tea maker.  
  
Trowa hovered at the door stupefied. Even he didn't have such appalling living space sharing a trailer with his sister, Cathy. Quatre went straight for his "kitchen" and set up the tea maker. Then he unfastened his belt while Trowa was busy shutting the door and latching it. He however turned in time to see a very tired blond shuffling around with a fistful of pants in one of his hands to keep them from falling down. It was extremely adorable.and tempting.  
  
Quatre crouched down in front of one of his tiny cabinets and pulled out a long t-shirt along with a pair of old pajama pants. He changed quickly and efficiently wriggling in and out of clothes without showing more skin than necessary. Trowa felt a little bad about imposing but became engrossed in watching his little crush go around the tiny apartment doing his everyday things.  
  
Meticulously, he went about putting things in order and rolling out the futon. Every crease was smoothed out before he went to retrieve his tea. He offered Trowa some, though he knew that he'd decline. He didn't seem much like a tea person.  
  
"You take the futon," Quatre said between sips of his tea. "I'll just sleep at the desk like I normally do."  
  
Trowa frowned and shook his head, "I won't take your bed from you. I'd rather sleep on the floor than steal from you."  
  
Quatre sighed and drained the last bit out of his cup before rinsing it out at the sink. "I'd rather not see you on the ground. . .The futon. . ." he stopped to quell the steady growing blush in his cheeks, "it's large enough to accommodate the both of us, I think."  
  
It was Trowa's turn to blush. "I'd hate to make you do anything you're not comfortable with. . ."  
  
Quatre shook his head and ushered Trowa to the futon. Then he went off to take care of his oral hygiene before returning to take his place almost embarrassingly close to the other man.  
  
After debating for about five tense minutes over whether his next course of action would break the ice or make things even worse, Trowa just decided to go on with it. He rolled over onto his side and pulled his blond love into an almost excessively familiar embrace. He counted back in his head from eight noting the hastened breathing in the other youth but no other real threat to their friendship or life as lovers-to-be. By the time he hit the magic number one, Quatre snuggled up closer and turned over so that his head was buried in Trowa's chest. It was a little chilly in the apartment, so the tall one deducted that either he was leeching all the heat from him or he really was pleased with their new situation. Chancing the fear of making things worse, Trowa pulled Quatre up to face level and kissed him. He kissed back, and then they hugged lazily for a few moments.  
  
They fell asleep around the same time, Quatre first and Trowa following suit after comfortably perching his chin on the top of the halo of golden hair he admired so much.  
  
It was a peaceful night.  
  
**  
  
Trowa awoke with a start sensing unfamiliar territory. Then he remembered that he was at Quatre's. He sat up and looked around for his little love, and found him at the desk sitting in a turned around seat bent over a leafy notebook.  
  
"Morning," Trowa mumbled hoarsely.  
  
Quatre turned around a halfway with a candy cane sticking out of his rosy lips and nodded. Two dimples adorned his cheeks. It was so adorable that Trowa forgot to breathe. When he'd regained the power of speech, he asked, "What are you up to, little one?"  
  
"I'm working," Quatre laughed, his teeth keeping the candy in place.  
  
"It's a little odd. . .You work so much to afford so little," Trowa said pointedly.  
  
That froze Quatre for a moment. "I could actually afford a lot," he said seriously. "But, right now, I'm sponsoring a child that is waiting to be adopted overseas. It's a thing I started when I still lived with my father. It's just gotten a little harder since I moved out."  
  
"I remember that. However, for some reason, I think there's more to this. . .but I'll let you keep your secrets for now," Trowa sighed and joined him at the desk resting his head atop his head.  
  
"Thanks Trowa, you're sweet," Quatre smiled taking the candy cane from his mouth and twisting himself around to plant sticky kiss on his cheek. Then he got pecked on the mouth by a grinning Trowa.  
  
"You're sweet too," he laughed. 


End file.
